 President of the United States. Thank you very much. Oh, thank you. Please, sit down. And I wish I knew where the light in this thing turned on. I can't find it, so I'll do it in the dark. Well, good afternoon and welcome to the White House. Today, we mark the 37th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A document to which virtually every nation on Earth subscribes. It's a day for us to take stock, to survey the globe with an eye not so much in to words as to actual deeds, to measure the world against the noble assertions of the Universal Declaration, and to reaffirm our commitment to the cause of human dignity. America has since its founding been a refuge for those suffering under the yoke of oppression. A belief in the dignity of man and government by the consent of the people lies at the heart of our national character and the soul of our foreign policy. I had the pleasure of explaining that to a gentleman in Geneva not too long ago that here the difference is our documents such as the Constitution say we the people will allow government to do the following things. Today, more than ever, we're proud to be champions of freedom and human rights the world over. So in observing Human Rights Day, we celebrate our commitment to the beliefs and moral teachings on which our own nation is founded. A belief in liberty, in the dignity of man, and in the inalienable rights of free men and women to choose their destinies. We have not hesitated when these rights and freedoms have been threatened. Last month on Veterans Day, I visited the graves of our soldiers who gave their lives so that the rest of us might know the blessings of peace and freedom. Our sons, brothers, and fathers also lie in cemeteries and fields from Flanders to Manila under undying testimony to our determination that these rights shall not perish. We've learned from history that the cause of peace and human freedom is indivisible. Respect for human rights is essential to true peace on Earth. Governments that must answer their peoples do not launch wars of aggression. That's why the American people cannot close their eyes to abuses of human rights and injustice, whether they occur among friend or adversary or even on our own shores. And we must be particularly appalled that on the threshold of the 21st century, when man has made gigantic strides in opening the universe of space and finding cures for dread diseases, millions of our fellow men still suffer the grossest abuses. There are regimes, some friendly, some adversarial, that engage in frequent violations of human rights. There are other regimes, which by their very nature are built upon the denial of human rights and the subordination of the individual to the state. In Afghanistan and Cambodia, for example, alien dictatorships with the support of foreign occupation troops subject their peoples to unceasing warfare. Today, six years after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan up to 120,000 Soviet troops remain. They have slaughtered innocent women and children, they have employed poison gas, and they have loaded toys with small explosives and attempt to demoralize the people by crippling Afghan children. Some three and a half million Afghans, fully one-fourth of the pre-war population, have been forced to flee to Pakistan and Iraq. The communist rulers of Vietnam have launched vicious attacks upon Cambodian refugees, refugees who were fleeing a communist regime in Cambodia itself which led to the deaths of up to one-quarter of the entire Cambodian population. In Ethiopia, a Marxist government has used famine to punish large segments of its own population. Vice President Bush visited a camp for Ethiopian refugees in the Sudan last March. Men and women of all ages were dying, but the Vice President told me there's something unbearably painful about seeing the eyes of the children, the huge, sad eyes of starving children, and the peoples and governments of the democracies have responded generously to those pleas with tangible evidence of our concern. In the Western Hemisphere where so much progress toward democracy has been made, Cuba stands out as the country where institutionalized totalitarianism has consistently violated the rights of the citizens. Unfortunately, the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua seems determined to embark on the same course. On three continents, we see brave men and women risking their lives in anti-communist battles for freedom. We cannot and will not turn our backs on them. This year, the House of Representatives has heeded their call and voted aid to the freedom fighters in Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Nicaragua and repealed a ban on aid to freedom fighters in Angola. Elsewhere, we have seen considerable progress toward observance of human rights in El Salvador, Grenada, and Honduras. Freely selected or elected governments, I should say, represent the best hope of their peoples for the future. And just over the last weekend, a new civilian president was elected in Guatemala that's the first time in 15 years. We laud those achievements, but our concern remains for those who are still captive and oppressed. This is where our voices must speak for justice. For the force of world opinion, canon does make a difference. One of the more tragic cases today is that of the Baha'i, whose leaders are with us today. The government of Iran has engaged in rampant religious persecution, especially against Baha'is. Since 1979, 198 Baha'is have been put to death. 767 are imprisoned, some 10,000 made homeless, and over 25,000 forced to flee their country. Only the continued world outcry can help bring an end to their suffering. In South Africa, the inhuman policy of apartheid continues. The declaration of a state of emergency has given the police in that country essentially unlimited powers to silence critics of the government. Thousands of South African citizens have been detained without cause and were charged, I should say, and denied even elementary judicial protection. I have said that apartheid is abhorrent. It's time that the government of South Africa took steps to end it and to reach out for compromise and reconciliation to end the turmoil in that strife torn land. In Chile and the Philippines too, we've shown our strong concern when our friends deviate from established democratic traditions. In Eastern Europe, the hopes and aspirations of millions of people for religious freedom and civic rights remain alive despite years of repression. The Solidarity Labor Union is still outlawed in Poland, and the Polish regime has once again moved to restrict the few freedoms that its people still enjoy. In Romania, religious persecution includes the destruction of Bibles. While in Bulgaria, the repression of the Turkish minority and the Islamic faith are witness to the unyielding denial of the basic freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion in this region. I addressed human rights in my meetings with General Secretary Gorbachev, and I made it very clear to him that human rights are an abiding concern of the American people. We had a long and confidential discussion, and at the conclusion of our meetings, we declared in a joint statement that humanitarian issues would be resolved in a humanitarian spirit. Americans will be watching hopefully to see whether that pledge is observed. Make no mistake about it, human rights will continue to have a profound effect on the United States-Soviet relationship as a whole, because they are fundamental to our vision of an enduring peace. President Lincoln once called America the last best hope of man on Earth. Mr. Lincoln's remark has special poignancy today when American determination and strength are central to the peace and freedom of the entire democratic world. It is therefore incumbent upon us to work for the expansion of freedom throughout the world. In this great effort, my friends, I deeply believe we have a good cause for hope. Evidence of the triumph of the ideal of freedom and respect for human rights can be seen in every corner of the globe, and this is because freedom is not only morally right, but practical and beneficial. Indeed, governments that rest upon the consent of the governed and the rule of law are more successful in fulfilling their people's aspirations for a better life. Democratic government and economic freedom have turned a number of small nations into economic giants. It even appears to have roused a giant nation from its economic slumber. Permit me in closing to return to Mr. Lincoln. What defined America, what gave our nation its purpose and mission, he once said, was something in that declaration of independence giving liberty not alone to the people of this country, but hope to the world. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weight should be lifted from the shoulders of all men. Well, let us always be true to that distinctly American cause. Let us never cease to work and pray that the weights should be lifted from the shoulders of all men. Thank you, and God bless you, and I will now sign the proclamation designating December 10th as Human Rights Day and December 15th, 1985 as Bill of Rights Day, and the week beginning today is now recognized officially as Human Rights Week. Mr. President, you have mentioned in your remarks the relentless persecution of the Baha'is in Iran, and though the malas of that country may choose to perpetuate these atrocities, they must know that because of you and the voices that you will encourage to speak out against it, these cannot now be perpetrated, except in the full light of public opinion. For this, we are deeply and eternally grateful. We are aware also, Mr. President, that this is not a one-dimensional commitment that in addition, you are morally and spiritually committed to the establishment of the peace we all want among the nations of the world, peace the most pressing of all issues facing humanity today, and for which the Baha'is ardently pray and that this country will help lead the world out of its current predicament. Therefore, Mr. President, in recognition of your devotion to human rights, the National Spiritual Assembly presents to you on behalf of the 100,000 American Baha'is a commemorative plate, and in recognition of your continuous commitment to world peace, we have the honor, Mr. President, to transmit to you from the Universal House of Justice the international governing body of the Baha'is of the world a statement on world peace. Thank you, Mr. President. Well, thank you very much, and thank all of you for what you're doing in this. I had the pleasure of quoting a statement of Thomas Jefferson to my colleague there in Geneva, and he called it after he had heard it very profound, when Thomas Jefferson said, if the people know all the facts, the people will never make a mistake. So you, the people, and all of us together, I think, can continue to be a tide that will prove irresistible. Thank you all very much.